Weapon lanyard

ABSTRACT

The weapon lanyard is a flexible, inelastic, resilient coiled cord for attaching a weapon, particularly a handgun, to the person of a user of the weapon. The cord has swiveling snap hooks at both ends. The snap hook end which is to be attached to the gun has a ring, e.g., a split ring, through the hook which may be inserted through a hole, loop, or other lanyard attachment point on the butt of the handgun. The opposite snap hook end may be attached to a belt loop on the trousers, or it may be attached to a strap that can be buckled around a gun belt or other accessory or item of apparel. The cord is made from thermoplastic material, such as polyurethane, and may be solid or hollow. The ends of the cord may be secured to the snap hooks by clamps, welding, or other methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a weapon lanyard, and particularly to a coiled, resilient lanyard for tethering a handgun to a gun belt, or otherwise attaching the weapon to the person of the user in order to prevent or to hinder loss or theft of the weapon.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Law enforcement officers, including uniformed and plainclothes police officers, agents, sheriffs, correctional officers and the like, carry a handgun in the performance of their duties. Certain private sector employees, e.g., security guards, special police officers, etc., are also authorized to carry handguns in the course of their employment. While the handgun is sometimes transported in a shoulder holster or other special harness, the vast majority of such handguns are carried in holsters worn at the waist on gun belts. Although some holsters are equipped with a safety strap which can be secured around the grip of the gun, the strap is usually unfastened in circumstances where it may become necessary to use the gun, as in confrontations with suspects, in foot pursuit, during traffic stops, etc. Unfortunately, statistics show that a significant number of weapons issued to law enforcement officers are lost, or are used against the officer to whom the gun is issued by perpetrators who grab the gun out of the officer's belt holster.

[0005] One way to reduce the number of such incidents is to tether the handgun to the gun belt, or to another article of the user's apparel, so that the handgun is not lost if it should accidentally fall out of the holster, or so that it may potentially be reined in if it is grabbed by a perpetrator. Many standard issue weapons provided to law enforcement officers have a hole defined through the grip or butt of the gun so that a string lanyard can be attached to a ring placed through the hole in the grip for tethering the gun to the gun belt. The problem with a mere string lanyard is that the string needs to have sufficient length to permit the gun to be drawn from the holster and extended to arm's length for aiming purposes, but a flexible lanyard of such length is apt to become entangled or snagged on other accessories carried on the waist, or snagged on external, environmental obstacles. A variety of devices have been proposed for tethering handguns and other implements to the user's waist.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,022, issued Apr. 23, 1991 to F. McCoy, describes a gun safety assembly in which the handgun has a ring on the butt to which one end of a cord is attached by a snap ring or snap hook. The other end of the cord is attached to a reel which can be attached to a belt by a loop built into the reel housing. A spiral spring has one end attached to the reel spindle and the other end attached to the spool so that the spring coils around the spindle when the gun is drawn from the holster and the cord is extended from the reel, the spring unwinding to retract the cord into the reel when the gun is released. U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,785, issued May 7, 1996 to G. P. Compagna, Jr., discloses a similar device in which the cord is made from steel cable coated with nylon and is attached to the gun butt by a threaded fitting. The reel housing may have a lock to prevent unspooling the cable and the holster may have a button for locking the reel.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 1,308,665, issued Jul. 1, 1919 to W. W. Douglas, shows a magazine for an automatic pistol with a standard metal portion which slides within the gun butt and a flexible extension to the magazine having a feed spring disposed inside a closely wound wire spring tube covered with leather, canvas or other material and terminating with a removable plug having a ring fastener through which a belt may extend. It appears that attachment to the belt simply supports the flexible end of the magazine rather than acting as a safety tether. U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,903, issued Dec. 6, 1966 to P. J., teaches a method of securing a gun to a holster by forming grommeted holes through a holster behind the trigger which are aligned through the trigger guard so that the shackle of a pair of handcuffs can be secured through the holes and the trigger guard. U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,522, issued Jan. 8, 1991 to D.S. Norton, describes a safety lanyard for a rifle comprising an endless loop having one end attached to the hand grip of a rifle's shoulder stock by a clove hitch, and a second end attached to a hunter's wrist, belt, or other anchor by a slidable clasp.

[0008] Other patents showing devices for tethering objects or utensils to a user's waist include U.S. Pat. No. 1,566,192, issued Dec. 15, 1925 to A. J. Forrest (key holder with spring disposed around a string); U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,994,300 and 3,104,650, issued Aug. 1, 1961 and Sep. 24, 1963, respectively, to J. Grahling (child restrainer leash having coiled leash made from inelastic tensile elements sheathed in rubber cured while coiled around a mandrel); U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,875, issued Sep. 30, 1975 to Wilson et al. (coiled lanyard made from polyurethane tubing); U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,045, issued Jan. 14, 1992 to Reese et al. (pet leash attached to jogger's belt); U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,818, issued Mar. 12, 1996 to H. R. G. Macarelli (wallet tether); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,357, issued Feb. 29, 2000 to R. J. Morton (knife with novel bore to prevent tangling of lanyard).

[0009] None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a weapon lanyard solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The weapon lanyard is a flexible, inelastic, resilient coiled cord for attaching a weapon, particularly a handgun, to the person of a user of the weapon. The cord has swiveling snap hooks at both ends. The snap hook end which is to be attached to the gun has a ring, e.g., a split ring, through the hook which may be inserted through a hole, loop, or other lanyard attachment point on the butt of the handgun. The opposite snap hook end may be attached to a belt loop on the trousers, or it may be attached to a strap that can be buckled around a gun belt or other accessory or item of apparel. The cord is made from thermoplastic material, such as polyurethane, and may be solid or hollow. The ends of the cord may be secured to the snap hooks by clamps, welding, or other methods.

[0011] Advantageously, the weapon lanyard is lightweight and compact, since no reels or other bulky housing is required. Further, the coiled cord is only about one foot in length when retracted, forming a loop only about a maximum of six inches in length when the handgun is holstered, so that the lanyard leaves little exposed for becoming snagged. The coiled cord is capable of extending to between about three and six feet when the handgun is drawn from the holster, so that the user is not hindered during aiming and shooting the weapon. The cord has sufficient tensile strength so that it will not break when the cord is yanked to retrieve the weapon. The material from which the cord is made is weather resistant to extremes of heat and cold, as well as to moisture and other environmental conditions, so that the weapon lanyard will not deteriorate, and can be worn and used comfortably. Although its primary use is with a handgun, the weapon lanyard may also be used with a knife, nightstick, stun gun, or other weapon that can be worn or transported in a belt holster.

[0012] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a weapon lanyard for tethering a weapon which retracts to a compact configuration when the weapon is holstered so that the lanyard will not snag on other belt accessories or external obstacles.

[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide a retractable weapon lanyard which does not require a reel, spindle, or other heavy or bulky housings or elements subject to mechanical failure.

[0014] It is a further object of the invention to provide a weapon lanyard which is compact, lightweight, and easy and quick to attach to the user's apparel or person.

[0015] Still another object of the invention is to provide a weapon lanyard for retrieving a weapon, such as a handgun, which is made from a resilient, retractable material having sufficient tensile strength to permit yanking the lanyard in order to retrieve the weapon.

[0016] It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

[0017] These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a weapon lanyard according to the present invention with the lanyard in a retracted position.

[0019]FIG. 2 is an environmental, perspective view of a weapon lanyard according to the present invention with the lanyard in an extended position.

[0020]FIG. 3 is an environmental, perspective view of a weapon lanyard according to the present invention showing attachment of the lanyard to a handgun.

[0021]FIG. 4 is an elevation view of a weapon lanyard according to the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 5 is an environmental view of an alternative embodiment of a weapon lanyard according to the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 6 is an elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.

[0024]FIG. 7 is a fragmented view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 showing further details of the weapon lanyard according to the present invention.

[0025] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The present invention is a weapon lanyard, designated generally as 10 in the drawings. The weapon lanyard 10 is designed to tether a handgun 32 or other weapon, such as a knife, nightstick, etc., to the user's apparel or person, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Referring first to FIG. 4, the weapon lanyard 10 includes a coiled cord 12 having a first end 14 and a second end 16. A snap hook 18 is attached to the two opposing ends 14 and 16 of the coiled cord 12. The snap hook 18 is chrome plated, and is preferably a swiveling eyebolt snap hook 18 having a stirrup 20 to which the hook 22 is pivotally attached. The hook 22 shown in the drawings has a spring-biased peg 24 which may be retracted by sliding the button 26. Swivelling eyebolt snap hooks 18 of the type shown and described are conventionally available. Swivelling snap hooks may vary in mechanical details and construction, the type illustrated being preferred, although other forms of swivelling snap hooks with similar structure and capable of performing the same function are within the scope of the present invention.

[0027] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the opposing ends 14 and 16 are attached to their respective snap hooks 18 by inserting the end of the cord 12 through the stirrup 20 and securing the end by means of a clamp 28 crimped about the cord 12 and the free end. The structure of the clamp 28 is not critical, and any clamp conventionally used for forming a loop in an end of a rope, cable, or cord may be used in lieu of the crimp-type clamp. A ring 30, e.g., a split ring, is secured by the snap hook 18 at second end 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the ring 30 is inserted through a hole in the butt end of a handgun 32 supplied for securing a lanyard to the gun by the manufacturer of the handgun. Most handguns used as service or duty guns by law enforcement agencies, such as Smith & Wesson, Glock, Berretta, and others, have some means provided on the grip or at the butt end of the handgun 32 for attachment of a lanyard.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, in use the snap hook 18 at the first end 14 of the cord 12 is secured to a belt loop on the trousers, or to some other item of apparel on the person of the user 34 in the vicinity of the belt holster 36. In the retracted position, the coiled cord 12 has a length of not more than one foot, preferably about ten inches, so that in the position shown in FIG. 1, the cord 12 forms a loop between the holster 36 and the belt loop that only hangs down about four to six inches. When the handgun 32 is drawn from the holster 36, the coiled cord 12 extends to a length sufficient for the user 34 to extend the gun 32 at arm's length, as shown in FIG. 2. Preferably the cord 12 extends to a length of between about three to six feet. The coiled cord 12 is flexible, inelastic, resilient, and made from a thermoplastic material, preferably polyurethane or a polyvinyl resin. The cord 12 may be solid, or it may be hollow tubing, or it may form a sheath about a wire or cloth fiber. Preferably the gage of the cord is about 0.187 inches, although the gage may be as small as 0.150 inches. The plastic material is inelastic so that it does not stretch, but is resilient so that it has sufficient memory to return to the coil shape when a tensile force is removed from the end of the coiled cord 12. Advantageously, the thermoplastic material is weather resistant to extremes of heat and cold, as well as to moisture and other environmental conditions, so that the weapon lanyard will not deteriorate, and can be worn and used comfortably.

[0029] FIGS. 5-7 show an alternative embodiment of the weapon lanyard, designated as 40. This embodiment is identical to the weapon lanyard 10, except for a different method of attaching the snap hooks 18 to the ends of the coiled cord 12, and for the addition of a strap for attaching the cord 12 to a gun belt. Identical components will not be further described. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, it will be seen that the clamps 28 are omitted from this embodiment of the weapon lanyard 40. The first end 14 and the second end 16 of the coiled cord 12 have been inserted through the stirrups 20 of the snap hooks 18 and doubled back to form a loop, the ends 14 and 16 of the cord 12 being attached to the outside loops of the coil at the joint 42 by ultrasonic welding, heat welding, or other plastic joining processes. This method of attaching the cord 12 to the snap hooks 18 eliminates the need for clamps 28, and may also be used with the embodiment 10 of FIGS. 1-4.

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, the weapon lanyard 40 may also include a strap 44 for attaching the lanyard 40 to a gun belt 46. The strap 44 is secured to the gun belt 46 by a conventional buckle 48. As shown more clearly in FIG. 7, the buckle end of the strap 44 is doubled back and fastened by a first rivet 50 to secure the buckle 48 to the strap 44, and a ring 54, preferably of metal, is secured to the buckle end of the strap 44 between the first rivet 48 and a second rivet 52. The snap hook 18 at the first end 14 of the coiled cord 12 is attached to the ring 54. The strap 44 is preferably made from leather, although it may also be made from nylon. Representative dimensions of the strap 44 are about eight inches in length and ¼″ in width. The ring 54 may be about ¾″ in circumference. The strap 44 may be used in the lanyard 10 in lieu of attaching the snap hook 18 at the first end 14 of the cord 12 to a belt loop, thereby providing a firmer anchor for tethering the lanyard 10 or 40 to the user 34.

[0031] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. A weapon lanyard for retaining a weapon transported in a holster worn by a user, comprising: (a) a flexible, inelastic, resilient coiled cord having a first end and a second end; (b) a first snap hook attached to the first end of said coiled cord; (c) a second snap hook attached to the second end of said coiled cord; and (d) a ring attached to said second snap hook, said ring being adapted for attachment to a weapon; wherein the first end of said coiled cord is capable of being attached to an item of apparel worn by the user; wherein said coiled cord has a length of up to and including one foot in a retracted position, whereby said coiled cord forms a compact loop between its point of attachment to the item of apparel and the holster when the weapon is stored in the holster; and wherein said coiled cord has a length of between three feet and six feet in an extended position, whereby the weapon is capable of being held at arm's length.
 2. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said first and second snap hooks each have a stirrup, the weapon lanyard further comprising: (a) a first clamp, the first end of said coiled cord being looped through the stirrup of said first snap hook and being secured by said first clamp; and (b) a second clamp, the second end of said coiled cord being looped through the stirrup of said second snap hook and being secured by said second clamp.
 3. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said first and second snap hooks each have a stirrup, the first and second ends of said coiled cord being inserted through the stirrups of said first and second snap hooks, respectively, and secured by welding the first and second ends of said coiled cord in order to define a loop through the stirrups.
 4. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, further comprising a strap adapted for attachment to a gun belt, said strap having a first end and a second end, said strap further comprising: (a) a buckle attached to the first end of said strap; and (b) a ring attached to said strap adjacent said buckle, said first snap hook being removably attached to the ring on said strap in order to attach said coiled cord to the gun belt.
 5. The weapon lanyard according to claim 4, wherein said strap is made from leather.
 6. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said coiled cord is made from a thermoplastic material selected from the group consisting of polyurethane and a polyvinyl resin.
 7. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said coiled cord is tubular.
 8. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said coiled cord is solid.
 9. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said first and second snap hooks each further comprise a hook and a stirrup, said hook being pivotally attached to said stirrup, whereby said first and second snap hooks are capable of swivelling.
 10. The weapon lanyard according to claim 1, wherein said first and second snap hooks each further comprise: (a) a stirrup; and (b) a hook pivotally attached to said stirrup, said hook including a spring-biased peg and a slide button attached to said peg for opening and closing said hook.
 11. A weapon lanyard for retaining a weapon transported in a holster worn by a user, comprising: (a) a flexible, inelastic, resilient coiled cord having a first end and a second end; (b) a first swivel snap hook having a first stirrup; (c) a second swivel snap hook having a second stirrup; (d) a first clamp, the first end of said coiled cord being looped through the first stirrup and being secured by said first clamp; (e) a second clamp, the second end of said coiled cord being looped through the second stirrup and being secured by said second clamp; and (f) a ring attached to said second snap hook, said ring being adapted for attachment to a weapon; wherein the first end of said coiled cord is capable of being attached to an item of apparel worn by the user; wherein said coiled cord has a length of up to and including one foot in a retracted position, whereby said coiled cord forms a compact loop between its point of attachment to the item of apparel and the holster when the weapon is stored in the holster; and wherein said coiled cord has a length of between three feet and six feet in an extended position, whereby the weapon is capable of being held at arm's length.
 12. The weapon lanyard according to claim 11, wherein said coiled cord is made from a thermoplastic material selected from the group consisting of polyurethane and a polyvinyl resin.
 13. The weapon lanyard according to claim 11, wherein said coiled cord is tubular.
 14. The weapon lanyard according to claim 11, wherein said coiled cord is solid.
 15. The weapon lanyard according to claim 11, wherein said first and second snap hooks each further comprise: (a) a stirrup; and (b) a hook pivotally attached to said stirrup, said hook including a spring-biased peg and a slide button attached to said peg for opening and closing said hook.
 16. A weapon lanyard for retaining a weapon transported in a holster worn by a user, comprising: (a) a flexible, inelastic, resilient coiled cord having a first end and a second end; (b) a first swivel snap hook having a first stirrup, the first end of said coiled cord being inserted through the first stirrup and secured by welding in order to define a loop through the first stirrup; (c) a second swivel snap hook having a second stirrup, the second end of said coiled cord being inserted through the second stirrup and secured by welding in order to define a loop through the second stirrup; (d) a ring attached to said second snap hook, said ring being adapted for attachment to a weapon; and (e) a strap adapted for attachment to a gun belt, said strap having a first end and a second end, said strap further comprising: (i) a buckle attached to the first end of said strap; and (ii) a ring attached to said strap adjacent said buckle, said first snap hook being removably attached to the ring on said strap in order to attach said coiled cord to the gun belt. wherein the first end of said coiled cord is capable of being attached to an item of apparel worn by the user; wherein said coiled cord has a length of up to and including one foot in a retracted position, whereby said coiled cord forms a compact loop between its point of attachment to the item of apparel and the holster when the weapon is stored in the holster; and wherein said coiled cord has a length of between three feet and six feet in an extended position, whereby the weapon is capable of being held at arm's length.
 17. The weapon lanyard according to claim 16, wherein said coiled cord is made from a thermoplastic material selected from the group consisting of polyurethane and a polyvinyl resin.
 18. The weapon lanyard according to claim 16, wherein said strap is made from leather.
 19. The weapon lanyard according to claim 16, wherein said first and second snap hooks each further comprise: (a) a stirrup; and (b) a hook pivotally attached to said stirrup, said hook including a spring-biased peg and a slide button attached to said peg for opening and closing said hook. 